May 4, 2016 — Delaware Online — A plan to extend Delaware City’s borders to include the site of a massive residential and retail project being built near the deteriorating Fort DuPont has become an election issue in the quaint community, raising fears the
riverfront town will lose its charm.
Voters on Thursday will decide whether to annex 325 acres surrounding the former military post, including a 150-slip marina, restaurant, hotel and as many as 500 residential units being developed on the land. In March,
ownership of the land was transferred from the state to a new corporation set up to organize redevelopment.
“I want to see historic preservation,” said Jennifer Hough, a fourth-generation Delaware City resident whose grandfather was stationed at the fort, which hasn’t been used for military purposes since the 1940s
The community of about 1,700 residents has struggled with a limited amount of developable land. The 1.3-square-mile town is hemmed in by the canal, Delaware River and Delaware City Refinery, the largest employer in the area. Rows of shops and eateries are clustered along Clinton Street, which dead ends into the river, offering views of Pea Patch Island.
